The Raven Among Weasels
by nightshadow28
Summary: The summer before 2nd year, Harry finds himself locked in his bedroom for 5 days, until certain redhead family comes to check on him. Once they see Harry's living conditions they take him to the Burrow. Canon pairing (if any). Irregular updates.
1. The Weasels's rescue

Chapter 1- The Weaels's rescue

The sunlight let know it was morning, already. It also meant another day locked in the bedroom. The fifth day he was trapped in Dudley's old second bedroom. He hadn't eat anything, but half a bowl of cold-stone soup two days before. Harry was sure he was going to starve to death long before anyone noticed his absence at Hogwarts.

"Hey, Hedwig" Harry greeted weakly at his owl "I know you can't stand being locked for that long, but there's nothing we can do about it, can we?"

Harry hadn't get up from the bed for a whole day. His insides were pleading so long for food it started hurting pretty bad. Besides, what was he going to do up, anyways? It wasn't as if he could get out.

There was nothing else to do but wait for death's claws to climb onto him.

Harry knew thinking so easily about his own death wasn't right, but the thought of anything hurting or worrying him, and no more hunger, were quite pleasurable. He had been think about Hermione and Ron, but they, apparently, haven't. So there wasn't much to leave behind.

Harry rolled onto his stomach in an attempt to mitigate the growing pain, but it wouldn't go away. The only thing he could do was try to distract himself. He looked around and saw the small room decorated with a desk, a little closet, the bed and Dudley's broken, old toys. There wasn't much to distract himself from his reality. Although, he didn't have to try for long, given he drifted away into a restless, deep sleep.

The next morning Harry slowly woke up by the sound of the doorbell being rang in an odd, rhythmically way, too many times.

Weaker by hour, not even being able to completely open his eyes, Harry didn't find the energy to sit up nor roll onto his back. He just listened carefully.

After the sound of Aunt Petunia's footsteps and then the door opening, there was man's voice at the other side of the front door.

"Hello. You must be Harry's Aunt. I am Arthur Weasley and this is my wife Molly."

Harry's heart suddenly stopped. Did he heard right? Ron's parents had come for him? He had met Mrs. Weasley last year at the station, and again around a month ago, when they arrived for the summer. But the kind male voice must of have been from Ron's dad.

"What do you want?!" snapped Aunt Petunia, obviously knowing people who knew her nephew must of be wizards.

"You'll see, our son Ron -surely you've heard a lot of him from Harry- haven't get a single letter from Harry and he's afraid something might have happened to him." explain Mrs. Weasley.

"I don't know why he hadn't been writing, but he's fine." Aunt Petunia's tone said she wanted them gone.

"I don't doubt it, but we'd feel better if we could see him. Besides, in some letters Ron has sent, he asked Harry if he wanted to spend some time at our house." said Mrs. Wealey, kindly.

"He's out, but I'll let you know his answer." said hurriedly Aunt Petunia.

The moment Harry heard Aunt Petunia talking again, he started to get up. Hedwig hooted loudly while Harry was fighting hard not to fall. Unfortunately, Harry was too weak, so he felt down on the bed again. Hedwig began banging her wings against the cage, as well as hooting even louder.

"That must be Harry's owl, I suppose." said Mr. Weasley "She sounds bad."

"IT is fine. The annoying bird haven't shut up in days." said Aunt Petunia losing her temper.

"She doesn't sound good. I better get a look at her." said Mr. Weasley, but soon added "Don't worry, I have lots of experience taking care of owls. Just show us where Harry's bedroom is, and I'll solve the problem."

The footsteps were coming closer and closer until they suddenly stopped.

"This is Harry's bedroom? Why there are locks and a cat-flap?" asked worriedly Mrs. Weasley.

Harry was lying in bed once again, when the sound of keys opening the door caught his attention.

Harry saw the plump, redhead woman he had seen at King Cross, accompanied by a tall balding redhead man. They were looking at him in shock. Harry wanted to get up, even say something, but he was now trying really hard not to close his eyes, because once he did, he'd been asleep for who knows how long.

Mrs. Weasley shot directly at Harry, putting the back of her hand in his forehead, while Mr. Weasley stood in the doorway glaring at Aunt Petunia.

"Harry, dear. Are you alright?" asked urgently Mrs. Weasley now holding Harry in her arms.

Unable to speak, Harry just nodded and gave her a faint smile. Mrs. Weasley shared a look with her husband and kept saying soothing words into Harry's ear.

"How can you have a child living in this conditions?!"asked angrily Mr. Weasley

"He's a freak, one of your lot, he deserved it." said indifferently Aunt Petunia. "We didn't even want him, in the first place." She turned to leave.

Mr. Weasley was about to go after her, but Mrs. Weasley stopped him.

"Arthur, no. He needs help, now."

Mr. Weasley took Harry into his arms and started carring him towards the door, when Harry found a bit of energy to say: "Hedwig" quite weakly.

"Of course, dear." Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at Hedwig's cage "_Alohomora_"

Hedwig's cage door flew open, chain-free. Hedwig flew out, but instead of flying through the window, she made her way to Harry, watching him closely. And so, they went downstairs, where Aunt Petunia waited warily.

"Where are Harry's things?" asked angrily Mr. Weasley.

Aunt Petunia just pointed to the cupboard under the stairs, which was locked. Mr. Weasley glared at her, as if doing so would make her disappear. Mrs. Weasley opened the cupboard with another "_Alohomora"._

Mrs. Wealey took the trunk out, looking murderous.

"Let's go, now, Arthur, before I do something rash." growled Mrs. Weasley with her gaze directed at Aunt Petunia.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walk outside the house, with Harry, his trunk and Hedwig. Then Mrs. Weasley directed Hedwig to go to the Burrow. Meanwhile Hedwig flew away, they walked a couple of streets to the east and disappeared with a pop.

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**A.N.:Hope you like it.**

**Please review and tell me if I should continue this, or just leave it like this.**

**Have a nice weekend!**


	2. The Burrow

Chapter 2- The Burrow

After they appeared outside a peculiar looking house in a country yard, they headed for the front door. Mr. Weasley carrying a dizzy and weak Harry. Mrs. Weasley was following not too far away, dragging Harry's trunk behind her, a look of concern in her face.

The tall grass made it hard for both Weasleys to step forward, but that wasn't near to stopping them. As they came closer to the door, Harry, through dizziness, realized, for the sun's position, it must of have been around ten in the morning. Probably everyone at Ron's house was awake. Hopefully they weren't _in_ the house at the moment, so they wouldn't see him like this. Though, Harry knew it wasn't likely.

They kept walking for a couple of more minutes until they got to the door. Mr. Weasley pointed his wand at the door and opened it with a spell. The wooden door creaked and, apparently, for what sounded like galloping horses, alarmed the inhabitants of their arrival.

Harry's stomach ached horribly with hunger, and his dizziness didn't seem to decreased, in fact, it seemed to be taking over his consciousness.

Barely awake with half-closed eyes, Harry could faintly hear some gasps, followed by a worried questioning about him, and finally a reassuring female voice. Harry was sure the reassuring voice belonged to Mrs. Weasley. Then Harry knew no more.

Suddenly Dobby, the house-elf, appeared in front of him with a small _pop_. Those green, tennis ball-sized eyes staring down at him.

"Harry Potter must not go back Hogwarts." said Dobby. "It's for Harry Potter's own good."

With a snap a door closed, leaving Harry in distressing darkness. Harry looked around in confusion. There was nothing in the strangely small room, but a cot and a sheet. Familiarization came to Harry, rapidly. He was in his old cupboard under the stairs. Disappointment and helplessness crept onto him. He was alone, about to starve to death and, now, he would never see Hogwarts again.

Trying to understand the few last days's events, Harry rested his eyes closed for a moment, taking a deep, sorrowful breath.

When Harry decided it was time to open his eyes to reality, he woke up.

The sight of a small room covered his view. The intense orange color filling the room gave the impression of being inside an oven, but also offered a warm sensation. The orange color was shared between bed-covers, walls, roof and moving Quidditch posters. The Bed-covers and posters had two 'C' letters adorning them.

Watching the moving posters, Harry figured he was in a wizarding house. Memories flowed to him: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley coming to Privet Drive, Aunt Petunia trying to make them leave, Hedwig banging against her cage, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley finding him in his room, and, being brought to their house.

Harry moved slowly to a sitting position. He was still very weak, so his movements were either slow or painful.

Many small steps later, Harry was at top of the stairs. Holding, as strongly as he could manage, from the railing, Harry proceeded to go downstairs, taking his time with each step. He was about to fall down, at least, five times, not having the energy to be too quiet while at it.

Harry finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, energy leaving him. He could identify the sound of tableware crashing against a wooden table and footsteps hurrying into the living room, where the stairs were.

Harry caught a glimpse of redheaded people entering into the room, when his strength gave in. Harry felt himself dropping his standing position, and the floor quickly getting close. But Harry never hit the floor. Looking up, regaining his strength, he saw one of Ron's older brothers, Percy.

As soon as Harry's eyes left the sight of the familiar face, he was surrounded by six other pairs of concerned eyes, whose owners were all redheaded.

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**So, second chapter already! ^.^**

**Hope you like it. **

**I know it's been a bit slow, but as soon as Harry is settled down, it'll go faster.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	3. Welcomes and Conversations

**Hey!**

**First than anything I'd like to answer a doubt from Padfootette: As I wrote in the summary, the pairing will be canon, meaning Harry will be paired with Ginny. ;)**

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Chapter 3- Welcomes and Conversations

Harry had barely had time to recover from his dizziness when he felt himself being sat in a soft armchair. Harry blink a couple of times trying to recognize his surroundings. He finally could distinguish seven worried freckled faces.

Harry's head was still spinning a little, but he still was happy of being away from the Dursleys and knowing last year wasn't a dream.

Harry soon met Ron's eyes, who gave him a small smile, as if presenting his family to him.

The seven Weasleys didn't seem to realize they weren't giving Harry a lot of personal space and their continuous stares were getting a little disturbing, no matter how concerned they were. Harry thought they were probably thinking in what to say.

"Er-...Hello." said Harry in an attempt to take the stares off of him.

This apparently snapped them out of their thoughts.

"Hello, Harry, dear. How are you?" said sweetly Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm fine." Harry supposed this was one of the most awkward conversation he had ever had.

There was a hint of grimace in Mrs. Weasley, but Harry couldn't be sure as another sweet smile took place.

"Kids, why don't you go and finish your lunch? We'll be right there." said Arthur. They reluctantly left to the kitchen so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could have a privet talk with Harry, but knowing the twins, they were standing next to the door listening for the chat at the living room.

"Are you sure you're alright, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." But Mrs. Weasley wasn't buying any of it and put her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature.

"You don't look fine, Harry." This time Mr. Weasley spoke.

Harry didn't know what to say to that, he had never been in a situation like this, before.

"Do you remember how you got here?" asked Mr. Weasley.

Harry shyly nodded.

"Can you explain us why you were locked in your room?" Mr. Weasley's voice calm and patient.

Harry tensed and lowered his head. Mr. Weasley sighed before reaching Harry's chin with his right hand.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. What your...relatives did wasn't your fault, alright? Now, why don't we try with something easier?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley beamed at him encouragingly. "How long were you locked there?"

Harry hesitated before answering. He wasn't sure if he should tell, but he couldn't help trust them, the same happened when he met Hagrid last year.

"...Five days." almost whispered Harry.

"Right. When was the last time you ate anything?"

"Two days ago." For some reason Mrs. Weasley looked really angry.

"May I ask what did you eat?"

"Half a bowl of soup."

"Half?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, I gave the other half to Hedwig."

"And before that?"

"two slices of bread and a lump of cheese."

"The same day?"

"No, three days before the soup." If Harry thought Mrs. Weasley was angry, now she looked furious, but strangely, not towards him.

"Alright. Harry, what your relatives did was NOT right. They had no right. And we'd like to talk about it... later." At that, Harry looked down. "But don't worry, you're not going back there."

Harry's head shot up in hope.

"Really?"

"Really. For now, how about you accompany us for lunch? We were just starting."

The three walked to the kitchen. Harry was sure he heard Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny rushing to their seats. At this, he grinned mischievously, or at least as much as he could, given he still was weak and tired.

When they entered the kitchen, they found a large table with many plates filled with the most delicious food Harry had ever seen.

"Hello, Harry." greeted all the kids, though Ginny whispered it looking a little pink but friendly.

Next thing Harry knew he was sitting between Ron and Fred, and in front of Ginny, with Mrs. Weasley reaching him a plate filled with a piece of roast beef, a handful of mashed potato, a few broccoli, sliced carrots, peas and a tuna sandwich. It all looked so delicious, he began eating it right away, missing the sad and concerned looks on everyone's faces.

A while later everyone finished their lunch except for Harry, who had been having problems with the large amount of food.

"Kids, I'll be waiting for you in the living room." said Mr. Weasley before leaving the kitchen.

Percy and Ginny followed their father first. The twins murmured something between them and then left. Ron turned to Harry, said "Hey, mate." and followed the others. Harry was about to get up, as he supposed Mr. Weasley was talking about_ all_ the kids, but but Mrs. Weasley told him not to.

"It's alright, dear. Arthur was referring to the others. Now, why don't you eat a little more beef? You're so thin!" fussed Mrs. Weasley.

When Mrs. Weasley turned to supervise the dishes cleaning themselves (magic!), Harry silently pushed his chair closer to the door, enough to hear what was being said in the living room.

"...And then we brought him here."

"Are you serious, father?" asked Percy.

"Yes, Percy. Everything I've told you is true. That's why I want your help to get Harry comfortable in here and tell us if something's wrong. Can I count with you?"

"Yes, dad." everyone said.

"Dad? He's not going back there, right?" asked Ron.

"No, Ron, he's not." A tiny ray of hope crept in Harry's heart.

"Is he going to be part of the family, then?" asked innocently Ginny

"We'll see. First we have to make sure he's alright." As fast as hope had come, fear made its way to Harry. If he wouldn't stay with the Weasleys, then with who? What if whoever he was going to be sent with, was worst than the Dursleys?

These thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Weasley and his children enter the kitchen.

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**A.N.: Hi!**

**I just want to apologize it took me so long to update.**

**Review!**


	4. Inconvenient Visit

**Chapter 4- Inconvenient Visit **

The peace came back to the Burrow a week later. The smoothness of the moment was such, you'd forget it wasn't a dream.

That morning began just like the former few ones. Mr. Weasley had gone to his work at the Ministry, Mrs. Weasley was making breakfast, Percy and Ginny were the first to rise, therefore the first to have breakfast.

Singing birds woke Harry up. The past week had been the best one he ever had. Smiling at the present time, he got up from a spare bed in Ron's bedroom.

Ron was snoring as loud as a twelve year old boy can, oblivious to the gratefulness his friend was experimenting at being with a family like the Weasley. Harry didn't know how long he'd be able to stay - or if he'd be back next summer -,but for the moment, he was happy.

After five minutes of struggling to get Ron out of bed, Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, about to start on his breakfast.

Harry noticed how it was easier and faster for him to eat in the few days of being well-fed. Mrs. Weasley's constant fussing was the main reason behind that fact.

Just a second before Harry was able to dig his spoon into his bowl of porridge, there was a knock at the front door.

Mrs. Weasley went to answer the door, mindful of the looks she was getting. The day before, Mr. Weasley had informed Dumbledore of the issue with Harry. Dumbledore had said he'd pass by within the next few days, most likely to take Harry away. None of the Weasleys wanted Harry gone; the children had pleaded their parents to let Harry stay.

Some secons later Mrs. Weasley enter the kitchen looking fearful, yet serious.

"Professor Dumbledore is in the living room. I'm going to firecall your father. Stay here, kids. And I mean it" she warned.

Everyone nodded understanding this was no-nonsense business, even Fred and George, who were down to breakfast a moment before Ron and Harry.

Mrs. Weasley left the room. The kids looked at each other and went to have a look from the doorway, trying not to be seen; everyone went, except Percy, who kept whispering about obeying and getting in trouble.

Harry saw an old wizard in violet robes sat on a single armchair, who he recognized as his Headmaster. Harry couldn't help but feel terrified. Would Dumbledore send him away? Where to?

The sound of flames came from a fireplace in a near room, followed by footsteps. The kids hurried to their seats. In no time, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came through the door.

"Kids, stay here and don't make a sound, alright?" said Mr. Weasley before heading to the living room, not really waiting for an answer.

Even when both adults left the kitchen, no one said a word, not because of Mr. Weasley's command, but because they wanted to know what was being said in the other room.

"Good morning, Arthur. I hope my visit wasn't inconvenient." Said Dumbledore.

"Not at all, Headmaster."

"Very well, then. I assume you know the purpose of my visit. Now, you must understand, Harry may spend the rest of the holiday here, but when the next one arrives, he must go back to his relatives."

"But, Headmaster, you can't send him back there!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Molly, I understand your reluctance, but for Harry's own safety, he have to go back Privet Drive."

"Albus, maybe you didn't hear us right yesterday. When we found him, he was so week and sick. His _relatives _hadn't feed him for days, and when he did, it was near to nothing. And in all that time, he was locked in his bedroom. How sending him back is for his best interests? One more day and I'm sure he would have died" Mr. Weasley said the last bit as a whisper.

"I assure you, I did hear you, Arthur, and I've talked to them."

Harry couldn't see anything happening in the living room, but he could tell Mrs. Weasley was ready to argue, though, for some reason, she didn't. In fact, everything went awfully quiet; the kids began to worry and wonder whether they should step in, or not. Then -

"Alright, Albus. We'll make sure they pick him up at King Cross the next holiday." said Mr. Weasley.

Harry's eyes widened in horror. Mr. Weasley had said he wouldn't go back to the Dursleys, why did he tell Dumbledore otherwise? Harry looked around and saw the others were as shocked as him.

"Thank you, Arthur. I must be going now. Have a good day." said Dumbledore.

The front door opened and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hurried to the kitchen.

"How could you say that?!" demanded Fred.

"We thought you wanted to help Harry!" said George.

"You said you wouldn't let him go back!" accused Ron.

"What's going on, father?" said Percy loudly, but not loud enough to take off the pompous tone.

Mr. Weasley raised his hands to quiet everyone.

"Kids, I said that to the Headmaster because he wouldn't have give up otherwise. But when I told Harry's not going back, I meant it. For now the Headmaster will leave us alone, which will give us time to think what to do." said Mr. Weasley.

"You don't have to get into that much trouble for me, Mr. Weasley." said Harry.

The room looked at him confused.

"Harry, dear, we know we don't, but do you really expect us to let you stay where you're in danger?" said kindly Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, if we hadn't have come to get you, you could have died. Imagine what can happen if you go there the next holiday." said Mr. Weasley.

"Alright, kids. We haven't finish breakfast yet and Arthur has to go back to work." said Mrs. Weasley.

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**A.N.: Hey, guys!**

**I'm sorry it took me so long to update.**

**Hope you enjoy and review.**


	5. Using the floo

**Chapter 5- Using the floo.**

Something funny Harry noticed in his time at the Burrow, was how everyone suddenly got so protective of him, not that he didn't like it, but it could get a bit annoying. Sometimes it was like if the Weasleys thought he was made of glass and would brake any time. All in all, Harry had to admit the nature of it made him feel warm in his chest, almost like being..._loved_. He supposed this was what it felt like to be part of a family who actually cared for you, but he was so used to depend on himself for almost everything, the moment the others wanted to help him he'd end up feeling as if they thought he couldn't do anything.

Once, Mrs. Weasly had insisted too much about his unruly hair and, some minutes later, Harry was sat in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley putting strange potins and spells, trying to 'tame' his hair. All was in vane, given his hair simply refused to cooperate - as usual. Harry felt really embarrassed during and after that scene. He even expected the twins or Ron to point it out and have a good laugh, but it didn't happen, which brings the next issue. The Weasley children took their protective roll a little too seriously. The twins had pranked everyone at list twice since Harry got to the Burrow, but they hadn't so much as make humoring comment about him.

All of this made Harry think he couldn't stop being the different one, no matter if he was at the Dursleys, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley or the Burrow; he just had to be different. Those bitter thoughts filled Harry's head the next day after Dumbledore's visit. Lost in thought, Harry didn't notice anything outstanding happening in the kitchen until Mr. Weasley had announced "The letters are here!"

After the letters were read, they noticed almost all of the required books were from Gilderoy Lockhart, who apparently was pretty famous for things described in his books. George commented something about them not being cheap. That made Harry feel awkward. He wished he could help them with that, especially after_ they_ had help him, but he knew they wouldn't accept it.

Besides Lockhart's books, a topic was Ginny's first year.

"Oh, you're starting Hogwarts this year." exclaimed Harry politely.

"Yes. I always wanted to go since Bill went." said Ginny with the sightless of shy. Harry didn't think she'd ever talk or act comfortably in front of him, but she had gotten better; she would actually talk to him - shyly and short, but talk nonetheless. Harry could still remember the first two days when Ginny would be nervous around him and accidentally sent many things flying. Thankfully that stop quickly. She was nice and determined; they'd probably become good friends with time.

.

The next Wednesday Mrs. Weasley had decided would be a good day to go shopping the school supplies.

"Hurry up, kids." called Mrs. Weasley. "We're going Diagon Alley by floo. Why don't you go first, Harry, dear?" she offered him a flowerpot.

"W-What am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"He's never travel by floo." said Ron, obviously feeling stupid for forgetting.

"I'll go with him." offered Fred.

"Good idea, Fred." said Mr. Weasley.

_There again._ Thought Harry. _Their over protectiveness had kicked in once again. _Harry would have tell them he could go alone, but he didn't even know what they were doing. He'd just have to prove he wasn't helpless in other ways.

"Hold tight to my arm, the trip could get a little...rough." advised Fred.

Fred took a pinch of glittering powder, stepped up to the fire - dragging Harry with one arm -, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred and Harry stepped into it. Harry thought they were going to get burn and tried to pull again from Fred, but Fred wouldn't let go. Harry just closed his eyes and heard Fred shout "Diagon Alley!"

It felt as though they were being sucked down a giant drain. They seemed to be spinning very fast — the roaring in Harry's ears was deafening— he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick — something hard knocked his elbow  
and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning — now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face — squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond — he was holding really tight of Fred's left arm — he closed his eyes again wishing it  
would stop, and then —  
He almost fell, face forward, onto cold stone.  
Dizzy, he looked up to Fred, who was trying to steady him enough to stand on his own. He could distinguish the sotres, crowd and noises from the familiar Diagon Alley. It was as amazing as he could remember. He smiled to himself until green fire shot inside the fireplace and George pop out of it.

"So, how was your first time using the good old floo?" said George smirking.

"Fine." said simply Harry.

"Really?" asked incredulously Fred.

"It's definitely not my favorite way to travel." said Harry trying not to laugh along with Fred and George.

Mr. Weasley then appeared inside the fireplce, followed by Percy, Ron, Ginny and then Mrs. Weasley.

"Alright, everyone's here? Good, let's get on moving." said Mrs, Weasley.

An hour later, after finding the Grangers, the last thing the only thing left to do, was to buy the books.

A sign said Lockhart was signing the books, so Hermione and Mrs. Weaslye hurried everyone inside. The store was awfully full; there wasn't a lot room to move and the journalists were flashing their cameras with no rest, stepping on everyone. One of the Daily Prophet's reporter stepped on Ron, who yelped.

That caught Lockhart's attention. His gaze went scanning from Ron, to the Grangers, to the rest of the Weasleys, and finally, to Harry.

Lockhart looked like he had just wined the lottery.

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**A.N.: Hey, guys!**

**You may notice I took a bit of the book's text.**

**Anthony37, in this chapter you can see that, indeed this experience helped Ginny get over her 'hero worship'.**

**Have a nice day!**


	6. At Flourish and Blotts

**Chapter 6- At Flourish and Blotts.**

"It can't be Harry Potter?" shouted Lockhart.

The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.

"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

"Let go of him!" said Fred and George, angrily, making their way through the crowd.

"Yes, yes, boys. Don't worry, you'll have your books signed, soon. Now, we're working here." said Lockhart loudly.

Harry was a bit blinded by the camera's flashes, but managed to send a distressed look to Fred and George. He did try to break free from Lockhart's iron grip, but it was useless.

When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.

Harry could make out Fred and George coming near. He only hoped it was soon.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement. I've been sitting on for some time!

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose. Then-

WHAM!

Two books flied through the air until crashing with both sides of Lockhart's head.

"Get away from him!" yelled two identical voices.

Harry turned to look and saw Fred and George hurrying to his side. There were some gasps and cries of "insolent boys!" and "hooligans!", but besides that, anyone payed them too much mind, as most of the crowd was fussing over Lockhart. Lockhart was enjoying every second of the sympathetic attention he was getting.

Losing no time, Fred and George took each, one of Harry's arms and led him back where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were.

"Fred! George! Why did you do that for?!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"Did you not see how he was manhandling Harry?!" they protested.

"Don't be silly. Why would _Gilderoy Lockhart _do that for? Now, let's pay for the books to go home." said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry knew she wasn't being mean. She just really thought of Lockhart as a kind of hero - as, apparently, Hermione. But Harry, much like Fred, George and Ron, felt something _wrong_ about the man; he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Hermione walked to the cashier, leaving Ginny and Harry a little behind; though Harry could have sworn Mr. Weasley was constantly looking back at him, like if he was thinking Harry would disappear or, most probably, that Lockhart would be back.

In the background, Harry could hear Lockhart holding dramatically the side of his head while speaking with the press: "I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.

"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend !" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over.

"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

Ron went as red as Ginny. He started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley."

It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids . . . I hope they're paying you overtime?"

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley . . . and I thought your family could sink no lower —"

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant.

Some moments later, they were broke apart by the assistant and a small group of random clients.

Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" He beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

The Weasleys, the Grangers and Harry hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.

"A fine example to set for your children . . . brawling in public . . . what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought —"

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity —"

But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be traveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder. They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side.

"Alright, kids. Who's going to use the floo first?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Me." Harry rushed to say, determined to show he could do things alone. Before Fred or George could offer to accompany him, Harry took a handful of floo powder and shouted "The Burrow!"

* * *

**A.N.: I know this chapter has plenty of J.K. Rowling's writing, but it was necessary. The changes in Harry's life are going to be more noticeable as time passes. **


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